An Israeli human rights organization has petitioned a court for an independent medical examination of a Palestinian doctor arrested from Gaza. Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) filed a petition with the administrative court on Wednesday, asking that the Israel Prison Service be compelled to allow a doctor designated by the group to visit Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya.
Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, was detained on December 27, 2024, during an Israeli army raid on the hospital. The hospital was destroyed during the raid, and patients and medical staff were forced to leave the building.
The group stated that the official medical file it obtained from the Prison Service contained a record of an injury to Abu Safiya's left eye. It also reported that the doctor had complained to medical staff about blows to the head and chest that caused rib pain. An X-ray was taken due to chest trauma, but the results were not included in the file.
This legal action came after the Prison Service rejected the group's request for an independent doctor visit on July 5. In reports published last month, PHRI documented that Abu Safiya had been subjected to ill-treatment and serious physical assaults during his detention.
Abu Safiya's lawyer, Nasser Odeh, informed the group that during a visit last month he observed injuries to his client's head, face, ears and neck, as well as shortness of breath and an inability to sit without support. The group also reported that Abu Safiya later told his lawyer he had been beaten again by prison staff.
The petition requested that the independent doctor be allowed to visit and examine Abu Safiya in the underground "Rakevet" wing of Nitzan Prison (Ramle) or wherever else he is being held. The group said, "An independent medical examination is the only way to professionally and impartially assess Dr. Abu Safiya's health condition."
This initiative is being pursued concurrently with a lawsuit the group has filed in the Israeli Supreme Court against the detention of 14 Palestinian doctors, including Abu Safiya, without charge or trial.
In February 2025, the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights announced that then-Israeli Southern Command chief Major General Yaron Finkelman had placed Abu Safiya in administrative detention under the "Unlawful Combatants Law." Abu Safiya remains in detention despite repeatedly stating that he engaged in no activity beyond his medical duties.
Abu Safiya, who has a chronic heart condition and high blood pressure, has seen his health deteriorate in prison. Legal visits and rights group reports have revealed that he contracted scabies due to poor detention conditions, and lost approximately 25 kilograms as a result of malnutrition and medical neglect.
According to reports by Palestinian and Israeli rights groups, around 9,500 Palestinian detainees are held in Israeli prisons; prisoners, including children and women, are subjected to starvation, torture and medical neglect.
